In 1897 a young girl named Virginia O’Hanlon wrote a letter to the New York Sun because she was having a crisis of faith. Encouraged by her father, she inquired of the Sun whether or not Santa Claus was real. The affirmative response she received (“Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus”) is today the most reprinted newspaper editorial ever written. The editor had explained to 8-year-old Virginia that her doubts had come through people “affected by the skepticism of a skeptical age,” those who would believe only in what they could see and touch. He went on to write, “There is a veil covering the unseen world . . . Only faith, fancy, poetry, love, romance can push aside that curtain and view and picture the supernal beauty and glory beyond.”
This weekend, as Jesus Christ draws near and we celebrate His birth in Bethlehem, the veil covering the unseen world is torn wide open and the sky is filled with those seraphic sentinels that cry out God’s glory, announcing the message of peace on earth.
Now is the time, above all times, to ask God for an increase in the virtue of faith. This is the moment, above all moments, to lovingly place our hearts and the needs of those we love in that sacred place beyond the veil of the unseen world. Yes, Virginia, there is a God in Bethlehem, and He has chosen to enter through the veil and into the visible world to reveal the love God has for us all.
